Originally Posted by Dandelion
One look at my last playlog brought me these:
a) Pittsburgh: Pro formation with two tight ends, strength is right. The defense is in a 43 with nickel personnel and 3-deep zone coverage, keying aggressively on the pass.
and
b) Pittsburgh: Five-Receiver Spread formation, strength is left. The defense is in a 43 with nickel personnel and 2-deep bump-and-run coverage, keying aggressively on the pass
and
c) Pittsburgh: Strong formation with three wideouts, strength is left. The defense is in a 43 with dime personnel and 2-deep man-to-man coverage, keying aggressively on the pass.
As in a) there are 2 TE lining up at the LOS and the FL being a step behind on either the left or right side, it seems the side with the FL must be the strong side.
In b) there's no TE in the game. Or at least, there has to be none, though you can use a TE as WR5 for example.. So two WR step up to the LOS. And from the "Personnel - miscellaneous formations" screen it looks as if those two are the FL1 and SE1. So the line is evenly balanced left and right. So which side is the "strong side" here? The one with more WRs on it?
Then there is c) - two WR lining up on either side of the LOS - FL1 and SE1 - and FL2 in the slot. RB either left or right of the FB. Where's the strong side here?
Well.. if you start calling the plays yourself, you can see there's always the option to "view" a play before you call it. And the option to switch the strong side to the left or to the right. And what happens is, that the formations - at least the receiver and backs - are "mirrored".
So version a) shows up as: TE1 on the right side of the line at the LOS, TE2 on the left. FL1 on the right side, a step off the LOS. Once you switch strength to the left, both TE exchange places and the FL1 moves to the left side also. Even the RB and FB exchange places, with the FB taking up position on the strong side. So strong side: Side with TE1/FL1/FB on it.. ?
In version b) with strong left side, its SE1 on the LOS, wide outside right. And SE2 on the LOS, wide outside right. FL1 is left of the line, a step back from the LOS. Right beside him is WR5. And FL2 stands way out right from the line, a step off the LOS. Once you switch strength to the right, all FL/SE exchange places. So strong side: Side with FL1 on it.. ?
Then c) again.. with strength = left the SE1 lines up outside of the line on the LOS to the right. Way outside Left of the line on the LOS is FL2 on the LOS. And FL1 is on the left, a step off the LOS. FB also left of the QB. Change to strength right and all go ring around the rosie again.. So strong side: Side with FL/FB on it.. ?
To check if it's 100% right I'd have to look through all formations, but it seems secure to say: Strong side is the one with FL1 on it.. (except for Goalline formation, where it's the one with TE3 and the FB.. *grin*)
So, unless someone uses the formation personnel screens to move the players around, there should be the possibility to orient your defense around the FL1, who usually should be the "best WR" - at least in SG.. right?
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